Something to Think About
by knittingknots
Summary: Post Manga. Not long before Sesshoumaru plans to marry Rin, InuYasha asks him some pointed questions. What is bothering InuYasha? And how does Sesshoumaru react? Takes place in 1561 in my timeline.


_I do not own InuYasha or any of the characters created by Rumiko Takahashi_

**Something to Think About**

"So, what're you gonna do now?" InuYasha asked.

He sat almost scowling in the fork of a tree not far from his house, looking down at the golden-amber eyes of his brother. The hanyou felt irritated, but wasn't really sure why he felt that way. It had started as a little nagging feeling in spring and had only gotten worse as the summer moved on, and with his brother's announcement about his plans for Rin, it had become something palpable, and even Kagome was beginning to notice. The sticky summer heat didn't help.

Sesshoumaru looked back at his brother, his face as usual hard to read, but there was a certain tinge of warmth just barely perceivable. He sat on the grass, at peace, and for the moment, chose to ignore his brother's mood. "Rin has said she would like the wedding dinner here," he replied. "It seems appropriate."

"Do you really have any idea about what you're getting yourself into?" the hanyou asked. A peal of female laughter made its way from the small house. "Sounds like they're planning something," InuYasha noted. "Don't be surprised if they come up with something you didn't expect."

"Hn," the youkai replied. He kept his look noncommital, but turned his face towards the house as he heard Rin's laughter above the others. Sango's son wandered out of the front of the house, quickly followed by one of the sisters. He stared at Sesshoumaru, and stuck a finger in his mouth, uncertain. Sesshoumaru raised an eyebrow. His sister took him by the hand and led him back inside, but not before waving at InuYasha.

The hanyou waved back and smiled, but the almost scowl returned as soon as they went back in.

He slipped down out of the tree and sat down, resting his back against the tree trunk. Looking at the house, he stuffed his arms into his sleeves.

"Something is bothering you, little brother," Sesshoumaru stated. InuYasha's right ear twitched. They sat in silence for several minutes.

"Eh," InuYasha said at last. "I don't know. I've been edgy lately, like there's something in the air. Seen too many soldiers on the road, maybe. Kagome tells me it's only going to get worse for a while. Fifty years maybe." He picked up a twig and twirled it in his hand.

"The Takada and the Uesugi and the Hojo," Sesshoumaru snorted. "Little ningen with big dreams."

"Yeah, well, I've seen what those little ningen did to Kagome when they snatched her," he said, breaking the twig in half. "I can't watch her every second. She'd purify my butt if I tried. But it just takes a second for something to go wrong."

"This village has been good to me and Kagome," InuYasha said. "But the headman's getting old and I hear some of the other villagers grumbling when they think that I'm not in earshot. Kaede can probably keep them in check for a while. The villagers act almost like she's a kami. But she's not much younger than the headman. I worry sometimes about what will happen once one of them goes. It makes me think about Atae and my childhood. The village might not be such a safe place."

"What is that to this Sesshoumaru?" the daiyoukai asked.

"Keh," InuYasha said. "Wait until you have brats of your own. Then you'll find all sorts of things to think about. At least the people here don't panic when they see us."

Sesshoumaru adjusted his sleeve. "We will not be staying here, little brother," Sesshoumaru announced. "The politics and security of this village are no longer of much concern."

InuYasha turned around to face him. "And that's another thing. You're going to rip her away from everybody she knows and trusts and drag her off. She's human. She may seem happy at first, but when the excitement wears off, she's going to get lonely and sad. And then she'll cry." He plucked a blade of grass. "Hell, Kagome had friends here, and wasn't alone, but I still caught her crying for the family she left behind. What's going to happen to Rin if she's off somewhere wandering from place to place with you and there's no friend for her to turn to when she needs one? You ready to see her try to hide that from you until it eats her up inside?"

Sesshoumaru didn't speak. Instead, he looked away into the trees beyond the small house. The doormat to the house pushed aside and a small, silver-haired child stepped out and began to toddle towards the two men.

"Feh," InuYasha said. "Just think about it. She's a human woman and too special to hurt that way." He stood up and walked over and picked his son up. "What ya doing, little guy?"

Atae showed InuYasha the toy horse in his hand. "Daddy! Uncle! Wanna play!"

"Sure. Let's go see what they're doing and then we'll play." He carried his son back into the house.

Atae waved, looked back over his father's shoulders at the daiyoukai. Sesshoumaru sighed almost imperceptibly, and longed, briefly for the simplicity of earlier days until he heard Rin's laughter ring out.

Suddenly, he was gone in a flash of light. He did indeed have some things to decide.


End file.
